Friction closure cap



v May 17, 193,2 N. N. HOLLAND I 1,858,826 v FRICTION C'LosURE GAP Filed March 18, 1927 .ffii 4 #mm2 i INVENTORw lll Patente May i7, i3@

NORMAN N. HOLAND, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ANCHOR CAP t CLOS'RE CORPORATION, OF LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW' YORK i .FRICTION CLOSURE CAP Application led March 18, 1927. Serial No. 176,397.

The present invention relates to closure caps, and more particularly to a closure cap of the friction type.

One of the diiliculties encountered with friction closure caps is their inability to accommodate the commercial variations from a standard size container. The lower the gradeof glassware the greater the variations in the size of the containers. Accordingly when low priced ware is used by packers, unusual lexibility is required of closure caps. The caps must not be loose on the small size containers; at the same time they must not be too tight on the over size containers, because breakage will occur` and diiiiculty will be encountered in removing the cap. In addition,

the caps must be capable of being removed j and applied to form reseals a number of times l without' impairing the security of the seal; otherwise the contents may spoil after the container has been opene Heretofore in the art, continuous beads have been formed in the skirts of caps to present a continuous band of metal to the side wall of the vessel. The width of the metal contacting with the container is relatively narrow as compared with the length of ythe skirt and will therefore permit the skirt to expand more readily but any increase in size requires stretching the narrow band of metal in contactv with the container. In

the use of such ca s containers are frequently broken and diilicu ty is encountered in removing the caps from oversized containers.

Interrupted beads have also been used but these remedy the evil to a limited extent only and in additionl necessitate the stretching of the cap to an out-of-round shape. These and various other expedients devised heretofore have failed to provide A a friction cap 'having the desired degree of holding lpower combined with thedesireddegree of flexil bility for accommodating undersized andl oversized containers. `Further, in" all .of

these there has been considerable diiiiculty in removing the caps.

The present invention overcomes these difficulties by providing a bead in the skirt of the cap havlng aseries of transverse projections extending at an angle to the -plane of the cover portion of the cap. The relatively long narrow projections render the bead flexible and expansible Without necessitating the stretching of the metal therein. By forming the projections at an angle to the cover portion of the cap, the radius of curvature thereof may be materially increased without increasing the Width of the bead or the length of the skirt. Such construction increases the iiexibility of the cap, and in addition the inclined projections facilitate application and removal of the cap since rotation of the cap will tend to cam it from a container.

An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive cap adapted'to form an effective seal on containers having a maximum range of variations from a standard size.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive cap having a maximum resilience in the skirtl thereof to facilitate application and removal from a container and to permit repeated use without impairing the effectiveness of the seal.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a metallic cap having a skirt of minimum length and maximum flexibility to accommodate containers having a wide range of variation from a standard size.

A further object of the invention is to rovide a friction cap in which rotation ofp the cap lfacilitates `application to and removal from a container. y

' Other and. further objects of the inventio land various advantages not referred to herein, will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon employmentI of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment has' been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a package sealed by a closure cap in accordance with the "present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view ofthe closure cap per endthereof. A metallic closure cap 2 having a cover portion 4 and a depending skirt 5 is-telescoped over the mouth of the container and a sealing wafer 6, fitting against the cover of the cap. forms an effective seal on the container. The center portionI of the cover may be depressed or panelled as shown at 7 to improve the appearance of the cap and to increase the effectiveness of the seal.

. The skirt of the cap may have an inwardly extending bead 8 which is provided with a series of elongated projections 9 to strengthen the skirt of the cap and at the same time to render the sealing zone very flexible. These projections may have various shapes but Iare shown herein as elongated depressions in the bead with tapered ends increasing in depth toward the center as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Preferably the projections 9 are inclined to the plane of the cover portion of the cap so that any transverse section such as that shown in Fig. 3 will sever at least two of the projections. In thisnanner at least two projections are presented to each circumferential portion ofthe sealing wall of the container. Further, the arrangement of the projections is such that the lower ends thereof engage the side wall of the container, and

' press .the bead gradually outwardly so that the more constricted portions thereof 'are expanded slowly to slip over the outer rim` of the container.

It will be noted in the drawings, and partlcularly in Figs. 1 and 3, that the bead without the projections may be formed on a relatively small radius of curvature. As a matter of fact in order for the proper depth to be attained with a large radius of curvature it would be necessary to increase the length of the skirt. This of course,-would increase the cost of thecap and since competition is` in Fig. l4 -is considerably longer than the length of the skirt of the cap. Therefore its radius of curvature may be greater than the radius of anybead that could be formed in the cap to give the same depth to the bead. The inclinati'n ofthe projections causes the curvature thereof to assume the characteristics of the circumferential shape of the bead and also of the transverse shape thereof.

The greater the radius of curvature, other things being equal, the greater flexibility the cap has due to the fact that the projections may be more easily deflected. This minimizes breakage and eliminates loose caps or caps too tight to be removed. The lower edge of the skirt'of the cap is preferably rolled into a wire edge 10 to strengthen this portion of the skirt and in addition, to improve the appearance of the cap.

In removlng a cap from Va container, there is a tendency to rotate the cap to loosen it. The inclination. of the projections in the present cap is such that rotation will cam the cap from the container. This facilitates removal of the cap. If necessary or desirable the skirt of the cap may be tapped with a suitable weight to flatten the bead thereby to loosen it on the container. l

In Fig. 6 another form of the invention is shown. The projections are longer and inclined to a less extent to the cover portion of the cap thereby presenting an even greater radius of curvature than that shown in the other figures of the drawings. The container is shown provided with an annular shoulder 13 to permit the insertion of a coin beneath the lower edge of the cap to facilitate removal thereof. It will be understood that certain advantages may be attained by means of the elongated inclined projection with or without the bead described herein.

It willbe observed that the present invention comprises an inexpensive friction cap adapted to accommodate containers having a maximum variation from standard sizes. Further the Vinclination of the projections to the plane of thev c over portion of the cap greatly increases the flexibility of the skirt and in addition facilitates application and removal thereof. The tendency of an individual to turn the'cap in removing it is utilized to cam the cap from the container. Further, the cap isadapted to be used repeatedly for the formation of seals so that the consumer may reseal the package when the contents have been partially used.

As various changes may be made in the above described embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention, it 1s to be understood that all matter herein set forth is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, said skirt having a circumferential groove therein with elongated depressions extending across said groove at an angle and of greater length than the width ofthe groove.

2. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, a circumferential bead in the skirt of the cap, and a series of elongated described my invention, I

1 projections extending transversely of said bead at an acute angle and having a length substantially greater than the Width of said bead.

3. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap comprising a cover portion, a depending skirt, an inwardly extending bead in said skirt, said bead being corrugated with each corrugation extending both circumferentially and transversely of said bead.

4. As an article of manufacture, a closure cap comprising a cover portion, a depending skirt, an .inwardly extending bead 1n said.

skirt, said bead being corrugated to form a series of projections adapted to engage the side Wall of a container, said corrugations being arranged so that at least two of said corrugations will be severed in any transverse section of the skirt.

5. As an article of manufacture, a closure` cap comprising a cover portion, a dependl ing skirt, an inwardly extending bead in said substantially longer than the skirt, said bead being corrugated with adjacent corrugations substantially parallel and width of the bead, whereby the radius of curvature of said corrugations is increased. y

6. As an article of manufacture, a friction closure cap, comprising a cover portion, a depending skirt, an inwardly extending bead in. said skirt, and a series of elongated projections in said bead, said projections being substantially parallel and inclined rto the plane of the cover portion of the cap to permit a greater radius of curvature thereof and to facilitate removal of the cap.

7. A sealed package comprislng a container having a smooth cylindrical side Wall sealing surface, and a friction closure cap havu ing a cover portion. and a depending skirt,

said closure Vcap having a plurality of adjacently arranged. overlapping projections in the skirt thereof inclined to the plane ofthe cover portion at substantially the same angle thereto and adapted to engage the substantially cylindrical side wall of the container, whereby rotation of .the cap in the proper direction tends to cam it from the smooth cylindrical side wall of the container.

l ,8. A sealed package comprising a container having a smooth cylindrical side Wall, a friction closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, and a plurality of projections in the skirt of the cap overlapping each other in the direction of their length and inclined to the plane of the cover portion to facilitate the application of the cap to and the removal of the cap from the substantially smooth cylindrical sealing surface 'which the said projections frictionally engage.

9. A sealed package comprising a container having a smooth cylindrical side wall sealing surface, a friction closure cap comprising a cover portion and a depending skirt, a plurality of elongated projections in said skirt in frictional engagement with the smooth side wall of the container, .said projections being inclined to the plane of the cover portion of the cap to increase the resilience of the skirt thereby to accommodate containers having a greater range of variations from a standard size, said projection being inclined suiiiciently so that a vertical section of said skirt will sever a plurality of `inclined' projections.

l0. A sealed package comprising a container having a substantially smooth cylindrical side wall, a friction closure cap adapted to engage and form a tight grip on said smooth cylindrical surface, said cap having a cover' portion and a depending skirt, said skirt having a plurality of relatively long inwardly extending projections and extending transversely and circumferentially of other substantially uniformly about the skirt-A of the cap.

11. A sealed package comprising a conl tainer having a substantially cylindrical side wall sealing surface, a closure cap having a cover portion and a depending skirt and forming a tight friction seal on said container to hold the cover part of the cap firmly against the rimof the container, said skirt having a plurality of elongated adjacently arranged depressions extending transversely and circumferentially7 of said skirt, each of said depressions being of greater length than the Width of said skirt. whereby the expansibility of the skirt is increased to accommodate a greater range of variations in the size of container and whereby the cap `may be removed from the container by tapping.

12. A sealed package comprising a container having a substantially smooth cylindrical side wall sealing surface, a'closure cap adapted to frictionally engage said sealing snrfa'ce having a cover portion and a depending skirt, a circumferential bead' in the skirt of the cap, and a series of elongated projections extending transversely of said bead at an angle thereto and having a length greater than the width of said bead.

13. A sealed package comprising a container having a substantially smooth cylindrical side wail, a closure cap having a cover portion and a dependin skirt', an inwardly extending bead in said s irt, said bead being corrugated with each corrugation extending both circumferentially and transversely of said bead to engage'the smooth side Wall of acontainer.

NORMAN N. HULLAN'D. 

